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Connect Your Apps with Zapier

Small businesses use many cloud-based applications such as CRM (Customer Relationship Management), CMS (Content Management System), Email Marketing, Analytics and many more. These applications can be very helpful, but can also bring their own headaches. How do you make everything work together?

Enter Zapier and VerticalResponse. VerticalResponse has created simple app integrations using Zapier, which VR customers can use to sync their favorite apps with VR.

For example, say our friend Colleen runs a dancewear shop and uses VerticalResponse to keep in touch with her customers. She also uses Sugar CRM, and doesn't want to have to update contact info for her customers in both places. No problem! She can create her own “Zap” that will automatically add a new contact to both places and keep them in sync. Within VR, Colleen can even set up her Zaps to add contacts to specific lists.

So what is Zapier?

Zapier is a web automation tool. With Zapier you can build Zaps which can automate parts of your business or life. An example of a Zap is:

“When I get a new entry from a Wufoo form, create a new contact in VerticalResponse”. The first is called a trigger and the next is called the action.

These Zaps are lightweight and very easy to set up. Also Zapier supports hundreds of apps. You can mix and match triggers and actions to automate just about anything.

Zapier has both free and paid plans. With a free plan you get 5 free Zaps and 100 tasks/month free. Certain applications like Salesforce or Sugar CRM are available only for paid plans.

What VerticalResponse triggers and actions are supported?

Supported TriggersNew Contact: Triggers when a new contact is created in VerticalResponse.New List: Triggers when a new list is created in VerticalResponse.

Supported Actions:Create Contact: Creates a new contact in the master list in VerticalResponse.Add Contact to a List: Adds a contact to a list of your choosing. If the contact does not exist already, a new contact is created in the list of your choosing.

How to create Zaps with VerticalResponse ?

Lets say you want to create a Zap between Wufoo and VerticalResponse. First create a free Zapier account at http://www.zapier.com. Then choose your triggers and actions as shown below.

One of the first things you will need to do is connect both the account with the trigger and the action account in Zapier. In this example, you'll need to connect the Wufoo and VerticalResponse accounts to Zapier. This is very straightforward and will just take a minute. You'll see a screen like the one below when you connect your VerticalResponse account:

You'll need to provide a name for the VerticalResponse account you are connecting. For our example we're using Nivi's VerticalResponse Account. This is only for you to identify which VR account you have connected to Zapier, in case there are multiple accounts. This doesn't affect the performance of your Zap in any way. You can click on "connect a different VerticalResponse Account" if you would like to connect a different account:

Click "Continue", you'll see the familiar VerticalResponse login window. Login with your VerticalResponse account (Zapier only works with the new VR platform and not for VRClassic customers):

Once you have logged in, you will be brought back to Zapier and your account will have been added successfully as shown below:

When you have connected the two accounts, you will see a screen like this.

Once your accounts are connected, you can choose the criteria for what you want to Zap. For example, while connecting your Wufoo form to VR, you need to specify which Wufoo form you want to use for new sign-ups.

Now you need to map the fields between your trigger and action applications, in our example, between Wufoo and VerticalResponse. This is required because when creating new contacts in VR from the Wufoo form submissions, the Zap should know which Wufoo data to send to VR.

Once you have set up your Zap, you can test it out as shown below. You can check the trigger and action samples and even refresh the samples if you have added new data to your Wufoo or VR account.

That’s it! You are all set. All that is remaining is to give your Zap a name and turn it on.

VerticalResponse Zap tips

When using VR as an action, like "Creating a Contact" or "Adding a Contact to a List", always map the contact fields using Zapier's suggestions. Make sure to always fill in the email address field.

When using the VR action "Adding a Contact to a List", make sure to choose the list to add the contact to. The drop down will show the lists in your VR account, just choose the list you want to add these contacts to. If you want to put these contacts into a new list, create one in VR and refresh this page:

If using VerticalResponse as a trigger, like adding a "New Contact", you can create filters using VR Contact Attributes such as first name, last name, email, address, city or any of your custom fields. By specifying filters, you can ensure that only when those conditions are met will the Zap will be triggered:

Currently, when using a VerticalResponse action like "Create a New Contact", only standard fields can be mapped to other service's fields.

When using VerticalResponse as a trigger, like adding a "New Contact", custom fields in VR can be mapped to other service's fields.

VerticalResponse checks for duplicate emails and returns an error if the zap is trying to add the same contact to VerticalResponse again.

You can turn Zaps on and off. If you dont want your two services to sync for a certain time period for any reason, you can turn them off and turn them on when you're ready.

FAQs

Can I use my VRClassic account with Zapier to create Zaps?No. The integrations with Zapier only work with the new VerticalResponse platform. If you would like to test Zaps with VerticalResponse, please create a new VR account.

Timeout ErrorsOccasionally you may encounter a "Gateway Timeout " error. This sometimes occurs if our API takes a while to return a response, but it's very rare. If it occurs for a Zap on the trigger side ( i.e VR as a trigger), you can ignore the error as Zapier will retry and recover from this scenario. If it occurs for a Zap on the action side (VR as an action), you can replay the failed tasks from the Task History interface.

What applications can be integrated with Zapier?Zapier has about 140+ third party applications and is adding more everyday. Any application that has a trigger or an action that is relevant to verticalresponse can technically be integrated with VR, it all depends on what you would like to do. A few applications that we think are the most natural fit for a VerticalResponse integrations are: